Why Should You Care? Do you ever think, twenty, thirty, or forty years ahead and worry who will look after your mum and dad or even yourself? And how much that care will cost?
Why Should You Care?
Why should you care about home care if you're young, fit, and healthy? You might think home care has nothing to do with you. Maybe you’re financially secure and assume you’ll always be able to afford whatever care you need. But here’s the reality: home care is not free at the point of need like the NHS. And if you have savings or assets above £23,250, you’ll be expected to pay for all or some of your care. Find out more by visiting our page about home care costs.
If the government doesn't increase funding for social care, many more of us face living without essential support for ourselves, our families, and future generations.
Who Will Care For You?
If you’re lucky, you’ll get old one day. But who will care for you if your mobility declines with old age, or if degenerative conditions like Parkinson’s or dementia make daily tasks impossible? Do you have a son or daughter who can step in? Will they have the time, capacity, and skills to provide 24/7 care? If you don’t have children, who will advocate for you when you can no longer do it yourself? These are difficult questions, but they need answers.
Read The Shrunken State Expects Families to Fill the Health and Social Care Void
What Happens When Your Money Runs Out?
Many private clients pay home care providers for an hour or more daily visit to help get them out of bed in the morning so that they can go to the toilet, get washed, dressed, and ready for the day. CareGivers can ask them what they would like for breakfast and have time to chat. If time allows, we don't underestimate the positive benefits of enjoying social activities in the local community. What happens if your money runs out and you can no longer afford to pay for your daily home care visits?
When Home Care Becomes Unaffordable
Imagine waking up at 5am, feeling the urgent need to use the toilet, but being completely unable to get out of bed without help. You lie there, uncomfortable, watching the clock, waiting for 9am—the time your trusted CareGiver used to arrive. They’d help you out of bed, give you the dignity of using the toilet, and assist you with washing, dressing, and preparing breakfast. A good start to the day.
But things have changed. Due to rising costs for home care providers and funding cuts from local authorities, your care provider can no longer afford to operate. Instead, you now rely on the Local Authority’s choice of care. Today, a carer you’ve never met before arrives at 1pm. They have just 15–30 minutes to get you up, washed, dressed, and strip your soiled bed sheets before rushing off to the next client. No time for a proper conversation, no chance to ease into the day with dignity—just a hurried routine dictated by time pressures and cost-cutting.
Home Care or Home Repair
I have daily battles with Local Authorities trying to secure the funding potential clients need to afford home care visits,” says Vicky. “Or just recently, a client had to choose between paying for a daily care visit to support them get up in the morning or paying for urgent repairs to fix their roof.
Sadly, they had to choose to pay for the roof repairs and stop their home care visits. We know that the caregiving role will most likely fall onto their daughter, who already has a full-time job and childcare responsibilities.”
Vicky Haines, MD, Kingsway Care
This heartbreaking choice is not unique. Across the UK, families are being forced to make impossible decisions, sacrificing their wellbeing or that of their loved ones due to a care system that is underfunded.
Soaring Cost of Care
Many people assume the government will step in to provide care. But the reality is stark: local authorities are not receiving increased funds to cope with the soaring care costs for our ageing population. In April 2025 the cost of care is set to rise by 10% due to the Autumn budget which will increase the national minimum wage and employers' national insurance contributions. Yet, no extra funding is being made available to local authorities to increase their pay rates by 10%.
Care Cost Cutting: Real Consequences
As a Living Wage employer, Kingsway Care fully supports the increase in the National Minimum Wage but the increase in national insurance will make it increasingly difficult for many care providers to survive. The consequences? More corner-cutting, less training, shorter visits, and a reliance on part-time workers instead of skilled professionals—everything Kingsway Care has been fighting against for years.
Leaders In Care
As leaders in care, we’ve always strived to raise the standard of home care. We employ full-time carers on fixed salaries and invest in first-class training through the Kingsway Care Academy. We provide care that improves the quality of life for our clients while ensuring our employees take pride in their work. To see how high-quality home care transforms lives, visit our Client Success Stories.
Lobbying MPs
Last year, Kingsway Care was quick to take action after the Autumn Budget, lobbying for a meeting with our local Hove MP, Peter Kyle. While sympathetic, he confirmed there would be no reversal of the National Insurance increase. This means it will be cheaper for businesses to employ part-time workers on 16-hour contracts or less, rather than invest in professionalising the sector with dedicated full-time CareGivers.
Olly Carter, Founder of Kingsway Care, and Vicky Haines, MD, lobby Pete Kyle MP for Hove and Portslade.
For decades, the UK social care sector has faced neglect and short-term fixes, with many hoping the Labour government would finally secure its future. This essential sector, powered by 1.6 million dedicated professionals, safeguards the well-being of millions of vulnerable people. Instead, the Autumn budget, effective from April 2025, is pushing the sector towards crisis. Employers’ National Insurance contributions and salary increases will add a staggering 10% to costs. At the same time, providers are struggling with rising expenses for insurance, utilities, rent, PPE, and essential systems—yet funding remains unchanged. This leaves hospices, charities, home care providers, care homes, and other social care organisations fighting for survival.
#ProvidersUnite
Day of Action: Future of Social Care
Today, thousands of care providers marched on Westminster as part of the#ProvidersUnite day of action, demanding urgent reform and fair funding for the social care sector. At Kingsway Care, we stand in solidarity with this movement because we see first-hand the challenges facing individuals who desperately need home care but struggle to afford it.
We cannot allow the government and local authorities to ignore the social care funding crisis any longer. We cannot wait until 2028 for another White Paper that kicks the issue down the road. So, why should you care? Because this crisis will affect you, your parents, your loved ones, and future generations. We all need to demand urgent action to safeguard social care.
Positive Home CareProviders Unite Day of Action
